Class 
Book. 




L G fr z. 



Copyright]^?. 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSnv 



LONDONDERRY 
NEW HAMPSHIRE 




School District Number Eipfht 



Published for the District Number 
Eight Old Home Association 



CONCORD, N. H. 

RuMFORD Printing Co. 
I 908 



LIBRARY cf CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

OCT 22 1908 

CLASS O,^ XXc, No 
COPY B. ' 



Copyright, 1908 
By REED PAIGE CLARK 



L 






TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

In School Days, by John Greenleaf Whittier 5 

List of Officers 7 

The Organization of the Association: 

Constitution 9 

By-Laws 10 

Historical Sketch, by Daniel Gage Annis 11 

List of Teachers 29 

How the New School House Came to be Built, by William Clark 34 

The Adams Fund, by WiUiam H. Crowell 39 

The First Celebration, by Reed Paige Clark 41 

Program of August 21, 1907 43 

Extracts from Letters of Regret 43 

Five-Minute Addresses 47 

Committees for August 21, 1907 57 

How the Money was Raised 58 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



School House, Bartley Hill, Londonderry. Frontispiece 

The Old Red School House Facing Page 34 

Ground Plan of the Old Red School House . .Page 38 

Sketch Map of the District Page 40 

Separation (Music) Page 55 



IN SCHOOL DAYS. 



By John GreJenleaf Whitties. 

Still sits the scliool-hoiise by the road, 

A ragged beggar sleeping; 
Around it still the sumachs grow, 

And blackben-y-vines are creeping. 

Within, the master's desk is seen. 
Deep scarred by raps official; 

The warping floor, the battered seats, 
The jack-knife's carved initial; 

The charcoal frescos on its wall ; 

Its door's worn sill, betraying 
The feet that, creeping slow to school. 

Went storming out to playing! 

Long years ago a winter sun 

Shone over it at setting; 
Lit up its western window-panes. 

And low eaves' icy fretting. 

It touched the tangled golden curls. 
And brown eyes full of grieving, 

Of one who still her steps delayed 
When all the school were leaving. 

For near her stood the little boy 
Her childish favor singled : 

His cap pulled low upon a face 
Where pride and shame were mingled. 

Pushing with restless feet the snow 
To right and left, he lingered ; 

As restlessly her tiny hands 

The blue-checked apron fingered. 



6 



He saw her lift her eyes; he felt 
The soft hand's light caressing, 

And heard the tremble of her voice, 
As if a fault confessing. 

"I'm sorry that I spelt the word : 

I hate to go above you, 
Because," — the brown eyes lower fell, — 

"Because, you see, I love you!" 

Still memory to a gray-haired man 
That sweet child-face is showing. 

Dear girl! the grasses on her grave 
Have forty years been growing! 

He lives to learn, in life's hard school, 
How few who pass above him 

Lament their triumph and his loss. 
Like her, — because they love him. 



OFFICERS OF THE DISTRICT NUMBER EIGHT 

OLD HOME ASSOCIATION, LONDONDERRY, 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1907-1908. 



President. 
Daniel G. Annis, Londonderry. 

Honorary President. 
Rev. Lucien H. Adams, Derry. 

Vice-President. 
William H. Crowell, Londonderry. 

Secretary-Treasurer. 
Reed Paige Clark, Londonderry. 

Executive Committee. 

Mrs. William H. Crowell, Londonderry, Chairman. 

Mrs. William Clark, Londonderry. 

Miss Lucy W. Perkins, Londonderry. 

Mrs. Charles S. Greeley, Londonderry. 

Arthur L. Evans, Londonderry. 

Frank S. Crowell, Bedford. 

John H. Goodwin, Londonderry. 

Mrs. Charles Adams, Londonderry. 

Richard L. Pettengill, Londonderry. 

Charles U. Annis, Londonderry. 

Editor. 
Reed Paige Clark, Londonderry. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSOCIATION. 



As early as the spring of 1905 it was suggested by ]\irs. 
"William Clark, Mrs. William H. Crowell, and other resi- 
dents of District Number Eight, that those who had come 
in contact with the District as teachers, pupils or residents, 
organize themselves into an association the object of which 
should be the awakening of a healthful interest in the Dis- 
trict. 

Nothing came of the matter then, but in the summer of 
the following year a sufficient number were enlisted to 
warrant the issuance of a call for a meeting. This call 
was printed in the local papers, and on August 24, 1906, 
some twenty-five people met in the school house to consider 
the subject. 

After a few minutes of informal discussion it was de- 
cided to organize. Mr. William Clark was chosen tem- 
porary chairman and Mr. Daniel G. Annis temporary sec- 
retary. The officers, a list of whom is printed elsewhere 
in this volume, were then unanimously elected. 

The naming of the new association provoked some debate 
but it was finally agreed unanimously that it be christened : 
District Number Eight Old Home Association, London- 
derry, New Hampshire. 

The Executive Committee, having been given authority 
therefor, met subsequently and adopted the following con- 
stitution and by-laws, under which the Association is 
acting : 

CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE ONE. 

This Association shall be known as the District Number Eight 
Old Home Association, Londonderry, New Hampshire. 



10 

ARTICLE TWO. 

The object of the Association is to promote interest in District 
Number Eight among past and present residents of the District. 

ARTICLE THREE. 

All teachers of the school, alumni, and all residents of the Dis- 
trict, past and present, are eligible to membership. 

ARTICLE FOUR. 

The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, Hon- 
orary President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer and an Ex- 
ecutive Committee of ten, who shall constitute the Executive 
Board. 

ARTICLE FIVE. 

The annual meeting of the Association shall be held on Wednes- 
day of the week designated as Old Home Week in New Hampshire, 
at the schoolhouse in District Number Eight, at such hour as the 
Executive Board may determine. 



BY-LAWS. 



ARTICLE ONE. 

The fee for membership shall be twenty-five cents, payable upon 
registration to the Secretary-Treasurer, except for children under 
sixteen years of age, who shall pay ten cents. There shall be no 
dues or assessments other than the fee for registration. 

ARTICLE TWO. 

The officers of the Association shall be elected at the close of 
the annual meeting for the ensuing year and shall hold office 
until the next annual meeting or until their successors are chosen. 

ARTICLE THREE. 

The officers of the Association shall perform the duties that 
usually devolve upon such officers, but no officer shall receive any 
compensation for such services. 

ARTICLE FOUR. 

These By-Laws may be amended at the annual meeting of the 
Association by vote of two thirds of the members present and vot- 
ing. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



By Daniel Gage Annis. 

For the history of this school district from the settle- 
ment of the town in 1719 to the close of the year 1799 we 
find no words at this time. From later records we are able 
to state that the ' ' Old Red School House ' ' was built in the 
year 1794. This school district was known as Number 17 
until the town of Derry was set off in the year 1829. 

Following are the records of meetings, lists of officers, 
and actions taken each year. 

1800 
July 19 
Jonathan Barnett 
James Adams 
Reuben Sawyer 

Com-Men 

(The Barnett family lived where Mr. Bresnon now lives; 
that place became the town poor-farm in 1833.) 

Eightly: — ^Voted to give $2.00 pr week to a School Maam. She 
boarding herself till sd money is expended. 

Ninthly: — Voted that no Schollar Shall have Any Privilidge in 
this School house the Present year that Lives out of this District. 

November 24 

Voted: — That every Proprietor that send a scollar or scollars 
shall Bring 4 ft of wood, and that every Proprietor shall cut his 
own Wood. 

1801 

December 7 

Meeting at Ensn John Dickey's. Voted: — That if any person did 
not bring their wood till Jan. 10th their children or servants should 
not be taught till the above vote is complyed with. 



12 

1802 

March 15 

Nathan Plummer 
David Crowell 
Elder: Edward Dodge 
Comttee Men 

Voted: — One eighth cord wood to eatch schollar. 

1803 

March 10 

Stephen Plummer 
James Wilson 
John Duncan 

Comttee Men. 

1804 

March 6 

Doctor Robt. Bartley 

Sami March 

Engm James Adams 

Comttee Men. 

"Voted: — The Committee to order concerning the ashes. 
Voted: — the School house be furnished with Door and harth 
Stones. 

1805 
March 13 

Capt. John Dickey 
Jonathan Barnett 
Mr Hugh Boyes 

Com.ttee Men. 

Voted: — the schollars to have the half the ashes at the expira- 
tion of said school. 

1806 
March 31 

Ensn Wm Boyes 
Mr James Platts 
Mr Benjm Corning 

Com.ttee Men 



13 

Voted: — the Committee to procure a convenient place for the 
Master to board at. 

Voted: — Mr Platts to repair School house. 

Voted: — that no nonresidents should be admited as schollars. 

Voted: — that the committee should be judges of nonresidents. 

1807 

March 2 
Messers 

Caleb Gooding 
John Dickey Junr 
Ensn James Adams 

Comtee 

Voted: — Mr Thomas Bartlett and Mr John Dickey privilage 
to send a schoUar by paying nine pence pr week for each schollar. 

1808 

March 14 

Nathan Johnson 
Dr. Robt. Bartley 
Nathaniel Giles 

Comtte 

Voted: — That if Glass be broken in the school House it should 
be repaired by the parents or Masters of them that broke it. 

1809 

March 18 

Lt James Wilson 
Jona Barnett 
Joshua Gooding 

Comtee 

1810 

March 17 

David Crowell 
Benjm Corning 
William Adams 

Comtee 

Voted: — That the Board of the Master shall be Vandued to the 
lowest bidder, and was struck off to Ruben Sawyer at 93 cts. 
Week. 



14 

1811 

Miiich 16 

Doct Robt. Bartloy 
Dn Edward Uod^e 
Mr John Uuiicaii 

Voted: — To procure a Deed from the Proprietors to Dist No. 17. 

1812 

March 19 

Lt. James Wilson 

En James Adams and 

Caleb Gooden 

Com.ttt-*' 

Voted: — to spoml 1/3 part of the Monoy in the summer lor a 
Mistriss. 

Voted: — to build A fals back and jams to the school house, 
struck of the drawing of 500 of Brick and Clay to Liut James 
Wilson at $1.25. 

1813 

March 18 

Doct Robt. Bartley 
Lt. William Boyes 
Robt. Patterson 

Voted: — To give Caleb Gooden $1.50 for procuring a Deed for sa 
Districk and fitting it Signed. 

Voted: — To give Master W'" Redfield a recommendation. 

Voted: — That there shall be no Sewing, Flowering or Writing 
brought into school this season. 

Voted: — to give Robert Patterson 40 Cents for a pale and mug. 

1814 

February 18 

James Watts 
Lent John Dickey 
and Luit James Wilson 
Comtteo 

The ashes vaudued and struck off to James Watts at $1. for 
tlie whole. Vaudued the Masters board and struck off to Lieut. 
John Dickey at 85 cts. per week. 



15 

1815 
March 1 
Ensign: James Adams, Com. 

Voted: — To liave but one for a Comttee Man. 

Voted: — to vandue the making and hanging of a Door mending 
Window Seets and boxes, struclt of at $1.GG to Benjamin Corn- 
ing. 

10th: — Voted that any Schoolar brealting Glass shall repare the 
same in eight and forty hours, after, or be denied the prlvilidge ot 
instruction. 

Voted: — to have the school house banked, vandued the bank- 
ing of sd school house, struck of to Alexander Spinne at 58 cents. 

1816 
Robert Patterson, Com. 

1817 
Lt Jon'n Barnett — Com. 

1818 
John Duncan — Com. 

1819 

Hugh Boyes — Com. 

John M. and Hazen G. Boyes signed Acknowledgement of bad be- 
havior in school. 

1820 

John Dow — Com. 

Voted: — to give Mr. Foster Towns the Master $l.oo per. week 
for his Board. 

1821 
Capt. James Watts — Com. 

1822 

Caleb Gooden — Com. 

Vandued the Masters board and struct of to John Wilson a 60 
cents per week. 



16 

1823 

Enoch Gooden — Com. 

Voted: — to buy the wood out of the school Money. 
Vandued the Ashes and sold to Capt. James Watts at 141.^ cents 
per Bushel. 

1824 

Capt. Robt. Patterson — Com. 

1825 
Silas Barker — Com. 
Voted: — to make an alteration in the Fire place. 

1826 
John Duncan — Com. 
Voted: — that the Master and Mistress board with the schollars. 

1827 
Dr. Hugh Bartley — Com. 
Sold the Ashes to Doc Hughy Bartley for 11 cts. per Bushel. 

1828 

Joshua Gooden — Com. 

Voted: — that the Committee man purchase a box or bask for to 
put in Ashes. 

1829 

John Morrison — Com. 

Voted: — the comniitte Man to sell the ashes and give the schol- 
lars some refreshments — "No Rum brought into school." 
Voted: — that Silas Barker survey the wood. 

1830 

John Adams — Com. Dist. 8. 
Voted: — to raise $115.oo to repair House. 
James Perkins 
James Watts, Jr. 
John Adams 

Com. to Examine House. 



17 



Wm Plummer 
John Adams 
Lucius Whipple 

Com. on repairs and to buy a Stove. 

1831 
Wm Plummer — Com. 

1832 
John Annis — Com. 
Voted: — Edmun Adams to paint the House. 

1833 
Edmund Adams — prud Com. 

1834 
Robert McGregore — preu<i Com. 

1835 
Sami Crowell — Com. 

1836 
(No record of Meeting.) 

1837 
Isaac Dow — Com. 

1838 

Josiah Goodwin — prudential Com. 
Voted: — the Teachers board with the scholars. 

1839 
Voted: — to buy a new stove. Raised $25. oo for Same. 

1840 
Jonathan Brickett — Prudential Com. 



18 

1841 
John N. Anderson — Com. 

Rev. Timothy G. Bralnard 
Doctor David Flanders 
Supt. Com. 

1842 
John Adams — Com. 

1843 
Samuel Crowell — Com. 

1844 
Reed P Clark — Prudential Com. 

1845 
James C. Hill — Prudential Com. 
Voted: — to repair the school-house by subscription 

1846 
John N. Anderson — Prudential Com. 

1847 
David Mf'Gregore — Com. 
Voted: — and sold the Old wood to Nathan Adams for 32 cts. 
(First town report printed.) 

1848 
Reed P. Clark — Prudential Com. 

1849 
Moses Alley — Com. 

1850 
John Morrison — Com. 

1851 
Calvin Vickery — Com. 

Sami c. Barker Com., vice Calvin Vickery, left town. 
(Town reports not printed.) 



19 

1852 
Washington Perkins — Prudential Com. 

1853 
Samuel Crowell — Com. 

1854 
David C. Barker — Prudential Com. 

Samuel Gilcreast 
Dr. Wm H. Martin 
John Dickey 

Supt. Com. 

1855 
James Adams — Com. 

John Dickey 

Rev. Henry Nutter 

Dr. Wm H. Martin 

Supt. Com. 

1856 
Samuel C. Barker — Com. 
May 22. Voted $1,000. to build New School house. 
Samuel C. Barker 
Aaron P. Hardy 
Reed P. Clark 

Building Com. 
June 25. Voted $125.oo to repair Old House. 
John Adams 
John Annis 
Trueworthy D. Chase 

Repairing Com. 

1857 
Samuel Crowell Jr. — Com. 

John Dickey 
Robt. C. Mack 
Elder John W. Greeley 
Supt. Com. 



20 

1858 
David C. Barker — Com. 
Mar, 11. Voted to and did sell the Old house to Albert Atwood 
for $35.50. Also voted $800.oo to build New House. 
Reed P. Clark 
Josiiih Goodwin 
Washington Perkins 
David McGregor 
John Dickey 

Building Com. 
Oct. 27. Voted to rai.se $136.oo to finish School House. 
Voted to raise $100.oo for Out Bldgs, 
Voted a Code of By-Laws. 
John N. Anderson 
Washington Perkins 

Com. to enforce By-Laws. 
John Dickey 
Robt. C. Mack 
Henry Goodwin 

Supt. Com. 

1859 

John Dickey — Com. 
Voted $25.00 for Grading. 
Voted $212.00 to pay debt. 

John Dickey 

R. C. Mack 

Dr. Wm J. Campbell 

Supt. Com. 

From this time on only one person each year was chosen 
Supt. Com. by the Town. 

I860 
Albert Atwood, Com. 

1861 
Washington Perkins — Com. 

1862 
John P. Whidden — Prui. Com. 
Mr. Reed P. Clark closed a clerkship of the District of 
19 years. 

Began to record the Pru'. Com. Report. 



21 

1863 
David McGregor — Prui Com. 

1864 
Trueworthy D. Chase — Prui. Com. 

1865 
David C. Barker — Pru'. Com. 

t 1866 
Henry Crowell — Prui. Com. 

1867 
Washington Perkins — Prui. Com. 
Voted $150.00 to paint School House. 

1868 
Washington Colby — Prui. Com. 

1869 

Andrew J. Benson — Prui. Com. 

First income of $10.°° from Edmund Adams fund re- 
corded in Pru. Com. report. 

1870 

Moses Alley — Com. 

Henry Crowell — Prui. Com. 

1871 

Henry J. Whittemore — Pru. Com. 
Owen Hinckley — Pru. Com., vice Henry J. Whitte- 
more, resigned. 

1872 
James M. Floyd — Prui. Com. 

1873 
Samuel W. Annis — Prui. Com. 

1874 
Andrew S. Ladd — Prui. Com. 



22 

1875 
James G. Stone — PriU. Com. 

187G 
Henry Crowcll — Prui. Cora. 
Voted $108.00 for repairs on buildings. 

1877 
Otis Adams — Prui. Com. 

1878 
Henry Crowell — PriU. Com. 

1879 
Washington Perkins — Pru'. Com. 

1880 
Chas. R. Frost— Prui. Com. 

1881 
Chas. S. Greeley— Prui. Com. 

1882 
Elbridge A. Whiddcn — Prui. Com. 

1883 
James M. Floyd — Prui. Com. 

1884 
Owen Hinckley — Prui. Com. 

1885 
Owen Hinckley — Prui. Com. 

Schools Managed hij Toimi System: 

1886 

Wn> P. Novins 
Lucien H. Nesinith 
Chas. Geo. Pillsbury 

School Board. 



23 

1887 
W'" P. Nevins 
Samuel Gilcreast 

School Board. 

1888 
Samuel Gilereast 
Win p. Nevins 
Albert P. Colby 

School Board. 

1889 
Albert P. Colby 
Wm P. Nevins 

School Board. 

1890 
Rev. H. B. Copp 
Wm P. Nevins 
Miss Hattie M. Wborf 

School Board. 

1891 
Henry B. Copp / 

Hattie M. Whorf 
Wm P. Nevins 

School Board. 

1892 
Albert P. Colby 
Wm P. Nevins 

School Board. 

1893 
Wm P. Nevins 
Albert P. Colby 
Henry Crowell 

School Board. 

1894 
Wm P. Nevins 
Albert P. Colby 
Henry Crowell 

School Board. 
Cost per scholar for the year was $10.63. Average number of 
scholars for the year was 26. 



24 

1895 
Wm P. Nevins 
Heury Crowell 
Wm Richardson, M. D. 

School Board. 

$100.00 Extra Stock M. & L. R. R. received on Adams Fund and 
the same was deposited in the Peoples Savings Bank, Manchester, 
N. H., the interest to be used hereafter in support of the school. 

1896 
Wm P. Nevins 
Wm Richardson 

School Board. 

1897 
Wm Richardson 
Daniel G. Annis 
Mrs. Georgietta W. Barrett 
School Board. 

Modern Seats were furnished by the Vermont School Seat Co. 
at a cost of $128.44. 

1898 
Daniel G. Annis 
Georgietta W. Barrett 
R. Guy Gibson 

School Board. 

1899 
Georgietta W. Barrett 
R. Guy Gibson 
Chas. McAllister 

School Board. 

W^ H. Crowell, Town Treas., w^as made Treas. of the 
Adams Fund. He holds office to the present time. 

1900 
R. Guy Gibson 
Chas. McAllister 
Daniel G. Annis 

School Board. 



25 

1901 
Chas. McAllister 
Daniel G. Annis 
Rev. Geo. A. McLucas 

School Board, 

1902 
Daniel G. Annis 
Miss Mabel F. M. Nevins 
Mrs. Sarah Annis 

School Board. 

1903 
Mabel F. M. Nevins 
Sarah Annis 
Daniel G. Annis 

School Board. 

1904 
Sarah Annis 
Daniel G. Annis 
Mabel F. M. Nevins 

School Board. 
School House reshiugled & repaired at a cost of $115. 

1905 
Daniel G. Annis 
Mabel F. M. Nevins 
Mrs. Almira A. Crowell 

School Board. 

1906 

Mabel F. M. Nevins 
Almira A. Crowell 
Wm G. Cross 

School Board. 

1907 

Almira A. Crowell 
Frank E. Robie 
Mabel F. M. Nevins 

School Board. 



26 



District Clerks of Long Service. 



Reed P. Clark, 19 years. 
Daniel G. Annis, 8 years. 
John Dickey, 5 years. 
David F. Perkins, 5 years. 



Teachers of Long Service. 



Miss Anna Florence Gibson, 


9 


terms 


1899-1900-1901 


Miss Mary Eastman Crowell, 


8 


terms 


1889-1890-1891-1892 


Miss Dora L. Young, 


8 


terms 


1892-1893-1894 


Miss Harriet F. Christie, 


8 


terms 


1903-1904-1905 


Miss Mary Eliza Crowell, 


7 


terms 


1895-1896-1897 


Mr. John Dickey, 


6 


terms 


1847-1848-1852-1854 
1856-1869 


Miss Abby E. Boyd, 


5 


terms 


1874-1876 


Miss Mary Jane Reid, 


4 


terms 


1863-1864-1865 


Miss Lucy W. Perkins, 


4 


terms 


1875-1877 


Miss Etta M. Young, 


4 


terms 


1884-1885 


Miss Mattie E. Farnura, 


4 


terms 


1886-1887-1888 


Miss Louisa E. MuUins, 


3 


terms 


1873 


Miss Nellie 0. Moore, 


3 


terms 


1879 


Miss A. Helen Gibson, 


3 


terms 


1901 


Miss Florence C. Center, 


3 


terms 


1907-1908 



Census. 

In the year 1806 there were 42 polls and estates in No. 8. In 
the year 1906 there were 66 polls and 55 houses and estates, 256 
beins; tlie total number of inhabitants. 



27 



Number of Pupils in School at Different Periods. 





Year. No. Pupils. 








1841 


70 


by Jonathan 


McAllis 




1858 


92 


for the year. 






1861 


88 


for the year. 






1863 


95 


for the year. 






1866 


71 


for the year. 






1868 


58 


Winter Term. 






1872 


42 


Winter Term. 






1874 


42 


Fall Term. 






1877 


29 


Fall Term. 






1880 


23 


for the year. 






1882 


20 


for the year. 






1885 


34 


for the year. 






1886 


18 


for the year. 






1890 


23 


for the year. 






1894 


26 


for the year. 






1898 


32 


for the year. 






1900 


32 


for the year. 






1902 


39 


for the year. 






1904 


40 


for the year. 






1906 


40 


for the year. 






1907 


45 


Spring Term. 






1908 


38 
Cost of 


Spring Term. 
New House. 




1858, 


, March 11, 










Sale of old buildinir 




$35.50 
800.00 




Appropriation 
October 27, 






1858, 










To complete bu 
Outbuilding . . 


lilding. . . . 




136.00 








100.00 


1859, 


Grading 






25.00 




To pay debt 






212.00 




Later disbursements (see 


• below) 






501.44 




Total .. 









$1,308.50 
$1,809.94 



28 

1867, 

To paint building 1150.00 

1876, 

Repairs to building 108.00 

1897, 

Modern Seats 128.44 

1904, 

Repairs to building 115.00 



Total $501.44 



LIST OF TEACHERS IN DISTRICT NUMBER EIGHT, 
LONDONDERRY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.* 



The names of the early teachers in District Number Sev- 
enteen, later known as District Number Eight, are not a 
matter of record. It appears incidentally that William 
Redfield taught in 1813 and Foster Towns in 1820. Other 
early teachers who can not be definitely placed are : 

Boardman Shute. 
Oliver Pillsbury. 
Rev. Daniel Goodwin. 
Jonathan Savory. 

Titus. 

Woodburn Dickey, 1839 (?). 
Miss Eliza Whorf, 1840 (?). 
Rei Hill, 1843 (?). 

Nichols, 1844 (?). 

Miss Martha J. Gregg, 1845 (?). 

1835 Miss Hannah Eastman. 

1836 Miss Susan Choate Ander- 

son. 

1837 Miss Sally Reed. 

1838 Miss Priscilla Claggett. 

1839 Miss Priscilla Claggett. 
Rev. Stephen Pillsbury. 

1840 

1841 Jonathan McAllister. 

1842 Jonathan McAllister. 

1843 Andrew Wallace Mack. 
1844 

1845 

1846 Miss Jane D. Patterson. Mrs. Robert Mack. 

1847 Miss Jane D. Patterson. 
John Dickey. 

1848 John Dickey. 



*This list is of necessity incomplete. The editor would be glad to know of 
any additions or corrections that should be made. 



30 



1849 Miss Hannah Jane Boyce. 



Josiah H. Pillsbury. 

1850 Miss Caroline Choate. 
Samuel Gilcreast. 

1851 Miss Caroline Choate. 

1852 Miss Almira J. Anderson. 

John Dickey. 

1853 Miss Alnora F. Pervier. 
Miss Sarah H. Goodwin. 
Samuel Gilcreast. 

1854 Miss Frances M. Brickett. 
John Dickey. 

1855 Miss Sarah J. Gilcreast. 
J. Kendrick Upton. 

1856 Miss Harriet S. Holmes. 
John Dickey. 

1857 Miss Ann J. Crosby. 
J. Kendrick Upton. 

1858 Miss Mary W. Griffin. 
George Brickett. 

1859 Miss Mary W. Griffin. 
L. Gilbert Chase. 

1860 Miss Emily B. Noyes. 
A. B. Wood. 

1861 Miss Mariauna P. Clark. 



William B. Fisher. 

1862 Miss Hattie L. Jones. 
George Brickett. 

1863 Miss Mary J. Reid. 



George W. Dickey. 

1864 Miss Mary J. Reid. 
Joseph R. Clark. 

1865 Miss Mary J. Reid. 

(2 terms.) 



Mrs. Turner, 

2667 N. Lincoln St., 

Raveuwood Station, 

Chicago, ni. 



Mrs. John Haynes, 

Londonderry, N. H. 



(Of Fisherville.) 



(Of Wilmot.) 



Litchfield, N. H. 
43 Elm St., 

Melrose, Mass. 

Haverhill, Mass. 

(Of Henniker.) 
Mrs. Wm. H. Seaman, 
1424 11th St., N. W., 

Washington, D. C. 



Mrs. Rodney N. Whittemore, 
Railroad St., 

West Manchester, N. H. 
Rural Delivery No. 3, 

Derry, N. H. 



31 



1866 Miss Mary P. C. March. 

Miss Jennie L. Moar. 

1867 Miss Harriet L. Warner. 



Miss Hattie A. Tilton. 

1868 Miss Emma L. Jenness. 

K. F. Blaisdell. 

1869 Miss Emma L. Jenness. 
Miss Ida J. Mullins. 



E. F. Higgins. 
John Dicl^ey. 

1870 Miss Lucy M. Boyd. 

(2 terms.) 

1871 Miss Hannah C. Webster. 
Myron Parsons Dickey. 

1872 Miss Ella A. Gilcreast. 



Charles S. Frost. 

1873 Miss Louisa E. MuIllns. 

(3 terms.) 

1874 Miss Abby E. Boyd. 

(2 terms.) 

1875 Miss Lucy W. Perkins. 

(3 terms.) 

1876 Miss Abby E. Boyd. 

(3 terms.) 

1877 Miss Lucy W. Perkins. 
Miss Emma B. Greeley. 

(2 terms.) 

1878 Miss Florence E. Boyd. 

(2 terms.) 
H. Plummer Crowell. 

1879 Miss Nellie O. Moore. 

(3 terms.) 



Mrs. Hall, 

Long Pine, Neb. 
Mrs. Packer. 
Mrs. John F. Pullen, 
80 Highland Ave., 

Newtonville, Mass. 



764 No. Park Ave., 



Chicago, 111. 



Mrs. Dustin, 

Rural Delivery No. 5, 

Manchester, N. H. 



Mrs. Gould. 



Milton, N. H. 
Mrs. Huse, 
Rural Delivery No. 1, 

Derry, N. H. 



Mrs. Nesmith, 

Rural Delivery No. 5, 

Manchester, N. H. 
Mrs. Crowell, 

Rural Delivery No. 7, 

Manchester, N. H. 
Rural Delivery No. 1, 

Londonderry, N. H. 



Mrs. Rei M. Hill, 

Windham, N. H. 



32 



1880 Miss Ortie M. Smith. 



Miss Isabelle D. McGregor. 

Ira W. Holt. 

1881 Miss Nellie S. Dickey. 

Miss Ella M. Allen. 
H. Plummer Crowell. 

1882 Miss Mary L. Childs. 



Miss Sarah P. Webster. 
Miss Ella M. Allen. 

1883 Miss Emma H. Perkins. 

(2 terms.) 
Arthur H. Hale. 

1884 Miss Etta M. Young. 

(3 terms.) 

1885 Miss Etta M. Young. 
Miss Susie C. Whittemore. 

1886 Miss Mattie E. Farnum. 

Miss Cinderella J. Moore. 
(2 terms.) 

1887 Miss Mattie E. Farnum. 

(2 terms.) 

1888 Miss Mattie E. Farnum. 
Miss Grace H. Gibson. 

(2 terms.) 

1889 Miss Hattie M. Whorf. 

(2 terms.) 
Miss Mary Eastman 
Crowell. 

Miss Flora A. Temple. 

1890 Miss Mary Eastman 

Crowell. 

(3 terms.) 

1891 Miss Mary Eastman 

Crowell. 

(3 terms.) 



Mrs. Severance, 
Rural Delivery No. 1, 

Manchester, N. H. 
Mrs. Demeritt, 

Houston, Tex, 
Webhannet, Maine. 
Rural Delivery No. 3, 

Derry, N. H. 



Mrs. Willie Watts, 
1602 Dorchester Ave., 

Dorchester, Mass. 



Mrs. Chas. W. Abbott, 

Derry, N. H. 
Manchester, N. H. 
Mrs. Newman, 
Rural Delivery No. 1, 

Westminster, Mass. 

Tewksbury Center, Mass. 
Mrs. A. S. Butler, 

Hudson, N. H. 
Rural Delivery No. 1, 

Windham Depot, N. H. 



Mrs. Pressey, 

Box 174, 

Montague, Mass. 



Mrs D. M. McQuesteu, 
413 Beech St., 

Manchester, N. H. 



33 



1892 Miss Mary Eastman 

C rowel 1. 
Miss Dora L. Young. 
(2 terms.) 

1893 Miss Dora L. Young. 

(3 terms.) 

1894 Miss Dora L. Young. 

(3 terms.) 

1895 Miss Mary Eliza Crowell. 

(3 terms.) 

1896 Miss Mary Eliza Crowell. 

(3 terms.) 

1897 Miss Mary Eliza Crowell. 
Irving C. Gove. 

Miss Ruby E. Mclntire. 

1898 Miss Lilla F. Warren. 

(2 terms.) 

1899 Miss Anna Florence Gibson. 

(3 terms.) 

1900 Miss Anna Florence Gibson. 

(3 terms.) 

1901 Miss Anna Florence Gibson. 

(3 terms.) 

1902 Miss A. Helen Gibson. 

(3 terms.) 

1903 Miss S. Evelyn Russell. 
Miss Harriet F. Christie. 

(2 terms.) 

1904 Miss Harriet F. Christie. 

(3 terms.) 

1905 Miss Harriet F. Christie. 

(3 terms.) 

1906 Mrs. Clarence 0. Watts 



Mrs. Lake, 
Rural Delivery No. 6, 

Manchester, N. H. 



Mrs. Brown, 
Rural Delivery No. 7, 

Manchester, N. H. 



Kensington, N. H. 
New Boston, N. H. 



Mrs. Holcomb, 
State College, 



Amherst, Mass. 



Center Sandwich, N. H. 
Mrs. Bergeron, 

Derry, N. H. 



Miss Mary Louisa Mooar. 

Miss Z. Grace Stevens. 

1907 Miss Florence C. Center. 

(3 terms.) 

1908 Mrs. Clarence O. Watts. 



Rural Delivery No. 1, 

Londonderry, N. H. 
869 Valley St., 

Manchester, N. H. 
Suncook, N. H. 
Rural Delivery No. 1, 

Hudson, N. H. 



THE OLD RED SCHOOL HOUSE. 



A Part of its History and How the New School House 
Came to be Built. 

By William Clark. 

We learn from the records that the Old Red School 
House was built in 1794 on the corner of the lot where 
the present school house stands. It was of solid, hewn oak 
frame and had a fireplace for heating it, being undoubtedly 
one of the most substantial and best appointed school houses 
of its day. 

The original lot contained about twelve square rods. 
This lot, with the school house thereon, was deeded by the 
proprietors to District Number Seventeen, March 16, 1811. 
for a consideration of $45.00. 

The proprietors were : 

Jonathan Barnett. Stephen Plumer. 

James Adams. Hugh Boyes. 

John Dickey. Thomas Bartlett. 

Nathan Plumer. David Gooden. 

James Wilson. Robert Nesmith. 

David Crowel. Ebenezer Fisher. 

Caleb Gooden. Joshua Corning. 

James Morrison. John Duncan. 

Benjamin Corning. William Adams. 

Nathaniel Giles. Jonathan Griffin. 

Reuben Sawyer. Robert Wilson. 

Edward Dodge. James Plats. 

James Watts. John Cochran. 

Robert Bartley. Jean Duncan. 

Repairs were made on the school house from time to time 
until 1830, when quite extensive repairs were made and 
the first stove bought. This was replaced with a new one 




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35 

in 1839 and others followed. The house was subjected to 
hard usage but withstood its abuse and was evidently large 
enough for its purpose until about 1847, when complaints 
began to be made ; conditions grew worse ever after. 

The Superintendent School Committee, Rev. Timothy Gr. 
Brainerd, in his report for 1849-50, says: 

The house is such a crazy old thing that it is altogether unfit 
for school purposes, and its location is on one of the most ele- 
vated and bleak spots in the town. Not only its decayed condi- 
tion, but its size, render it totally unfit for so large a school. 

The dimensions of the school room inside are, by actual meas- 
urement, found to be 25 feet in length and 17 feet in breadth. 

This room contains twelve benches 6% feet long; and in front 
of them are four corresponding low seats for small scholars, and 
the teacher's desk. 

Before the desk is an open space to the dooi*, occupied by the 
stove and the legs and feet of the scholars on the front seats; for 
the space is so narrow that the little fellows can almost reach 
their neighbors on the opposite side. Into this space of 17 feet 
by 25 feet were crowded on some days 60 scholars, 20 of whom 
were over 14 years of age. Every foot appropriated to seats was 
occupied so that whenever a class was called upon to recite a 
double change was necessary. * * * 

About 1852 there began a determined effort for a new, or 
larger and better school house, and then, and thereafter, 
articles were inserted in the warrants for school meeting," 
to build a new school house, or to enlarge and ' ' fit up " the 
old one, which for one cause and another failed of enact- 
ment. 

At a special meeting held May 22, 1856, the District 
voted to build a stone school house, and located it on land 
of Isaac Dow at the corner of the road opposite the old 
house ; voted to raise $1,000.00 therefor ; and chose a com- 
mittee to build. The District also voted to sell the old 
school house but neglected to do so, thereby making the 
vote to build illegal, as under the law no District could 
have two school houses. 



36 

At a special meeting held the twenty-third day of June, 
185(5, the motion to build was lost; $125.00 was voted to 
repair the school house, and a committee was chosen to 
repair, viz. : John Adams, John Annis and Trueworthy D. 
Chase. The repairing was left discretionary with the com- 
mittee, "but not to exceed in expense more than $125.00 
at any rate." 

In 1857 there was not much done in the way of building 
a new house, but the fires were kei)t l)urning by both fac- 
tions, then nearly equal in point of niiinbcfs jitid well 
ni;it(;li('d in parliamentary sisill. 

In 1(S5S they liad a warm tiiiic in Distfic.t Ninnlxir Eight. 
Tli(! iiiinuid mcciing on Mic clcvcntli (l;iy of Mai'ch took np 
th(! jirticle to s(;ll the school house before; acting on the 
article to build Ji new one, whi(!h prcuteded it. Thv District 
voted to sell the old lionsc ;uid to reserve its us(; for the 
summer school, .iiid, on motion, voted to proceed to scdl at 
auction. The building was knocked down to Al))ert At- 
wood for $35.50, he being the highest bidder. The bidding 
was not very spirited, as none of the prominent advocates 
of a new house took an active part and it was not evident 
what Albert Atwood wanted of his bargain. lie was, how- 
ever, bidding for Reed V. Clark, as many present well 
kmiw. '^riie whole affair was looked upon ns a huge joke by 
those opposed to a new house. 

Then the Districft voted to build a new school house; 
voted to raise $800.00 to be expended in l)uilding; and 
chose a committee to locate and build, viz.: R(>ed P. Clark, 
J()si;ih Coodwin, Washington P(>rkins, Dnvid McGregor, 
iuid John Dickey. 

i*];ii'ly in Ai)ril, 1858, an undated jx'tition, duly signed 
by three legal voters of the District, was presented to the 
Prudentiid Committe(\ asking him to call a special meeting 
find to insert in the warrant articles to reconsider votes to 
sell the school house and to build a school house (passed at 
the nuK^tiiig of March 11, 1858); to discharge the com- 
mittee; and to divide the District. 



37 

David C. Barker, the Prudential Committee, issued his 
warrant on the twenty-fourth day of April, warning a 
meeting on May 29, 1858, making as mueh delay as pos- 
sible in issuing the warrant and also fixing the date of 
meeting as late as he could in order to let the building 
committee get well under way. The writer well remembers 
hearing the matter discussed. 

This meeting was held at the store of Washington Colby, 
as the District then had no school house. After electing 
Washington Perkins Moderator, each article in the warrant 
was dismissed in turn and the meeting dissolved. There 
was nothing else to do under the circumstances. This was 
the last ditch. 

The building committee, awaiting this meeting, had been 
very much alive. They had located the new house and had 
acquired of Isaac Dow land adjoining the old site, making 
in all a plat containing 42 3/10 square rods. The building 
of the house had been contracted to Isaac Coburn. The 
lumber and other materials had been bought and partly 
delivered. The foundations were being put in by Benning 
Noyes, and the underpinning furnished by Reed P. Clark. 

The summer wore on. The school in the old house pro- 
gressed under the skilful and effective management of its 
teacher. Miss Mary W. Griffin of Litchfield, New Hamp- 
shire. The new house materialized immediately in the 
rear, to the north-west of the old one, and the Old Red 
School House looked complacently on to see itself sup- 
planted, but yet another mission was in store for it. 

After school closed the old house was moved up the hill 
to the corner of the road leading to John Dickey's, where 
it remained for several weeks. Warren Richardson then 
purchased it of Reed P. Clark and moved it to Wilson's 
Crossing, where it became a part of Mr. Richardson's shoe 
factory. Here it again swarmed with humanity and be- 
came a beehive of industry. All through the long years 
of the War, and afterwards, many whose first school days 



38 



were passed within its walls were among its busy workers. 
After eighty-six years of continuous service, sixty-five as a 
school house and twenty-one as a shoe factory, the Old Red 
School House was consumed by fire in the night of January 
19, 1880, and with it went the store, railroad station, and 
post-office at Wilson's Crossing. The missions of the old 
building were ended. Peace to its ashes ! 



Editor's Notes ; 



Portions of the original school house not forming a part of the main build- 
ing' are still to be found scattered over the District. There is atStonehenge a 
very substantial grain-chest made from the battle-scarred planks of which 
the benches were built. 

School was first opened in the new house in the fall of 1858, with George 
Brickett presiding over its destinies. 



DESK 



Ground Plan of the Old Red School House, 

(Drawn by Charles McGregor.) 
Scale: V8" = l'. 



THE ADAMS FUND. 



By William H. Crowell. 
Treasurer of the Fund. 

In the year 1870 the District came into possession of two 
shares of Manchester and Lawrence Railroad stock from 
the estate of Mr. Edmund Adams, an old and highly re- 
spected resident of the District. 

The par value of this stock was one hundred dollars per 
share. It pays a dividend of ten per cent per annum. 

In May, 1897, an extra dividend of one hundred ninety- 
five and 95-100 dollars ($195.95) on the two shares was 
declared. This was deposited in the People's Savings 
Bank of Manchester and pays at the present time three 
and one-half per cent interest. 

This amount, with the original two hundred, forms what 
is known as the "Adams Fund," the income of which is to 
be expended in extra schooling for the District. This 
amounts to $23.50 and gives about 2i^ weeks each year. 

Mr. Adams, the donor of this fund, was a man who was 
deeply interested in the cause of education and prominent 
in the affairs of the District. He was the father of the 
Reverend Lucien H. Adams of Derry, the Honorary Presi- 
dent of the District Number Eight Old Home Association, 
who was for many years a missionary in Turkey. 

Mr. Lucien H. Adams graduated from Kimball Union 
Academy, Meriden, and from Dartmouth College in the 
class of 1858. He is the father of Edward F. Adams, who 
graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1896 ; Wal- 
ter S. Adams, who graduated from Dartmouth College in 
the class of 1898; and Helen Adams, who graduated from 
Bridgewater Normal School and from Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity in the class of 1906. 



40 



It has been suggested that a portrait of Mr. Edmund 
Adams bo placed upon the wall of the school room in honor 
of his memory, and steps have already been taken to carry 
the suggestion into effect. "We hope before another year 
to see the plans perfected and the picture placed in posi- 
tion.* 



* A crayon portrait of Mr. Adams has been purchased by the Association 
and placed in the school room. 




Sketch Map of District Number Eight. 
(From the Government Survey, 1903.) 



THE FIRST CELEBRATION. 



By Reed Paige Clark. 

Preparations for the first celebration of the District Num- 
ber Eight Old Home Association were under way very early 
in the year 1907. The Committee on Ways and Means and 
the important Committee on Invitation were appointed at 
the outset by the Executive Committee. It was a difficult 
matter to prepare even an approximately complete list of 
teachers, pupils and former residents, but such a list was 
compiled largely through the untiring efforts of Mr. Annis, 
who was ably seconded by his colleagues on the Committee. 

Early in August attractive invitations were mailed to 
all non-residents eligible for membership in the Association 
whose names and addresses could be obtained. 

Committees whose duties did not involve such careful 
research as did those of the Committee on Invitation, but 
who devoted themselves to the immediate details of the 
celebration were appointed at a meeting of the Executive 
Board on July 10th. These committees went to work with 
a will and nothing was left undone that would contribute 
in the least to the success of the undertaking. 

The school house, through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. 
Crowell, had been re-papered, cleaned and put in perfect 
order prior to the entertainment of May 17th. Later the 
well was cleaned and a new pump installed. On the day 
before the celebration the Committee on Decorations and 
Order, having perfected their plans, repaired to Bartley 
Hill with the necessary assortment of brooms, scythes, 
rakes, shovels and other instruments of warfare. They 
were generously assisted by enthusiastic members of the 
Association who realized what a task was before them. 
The wall around the school house, overturned by pupils 



42 

in years gone by, was largely rebuilt. The grass was cut; 
the grounds carefully raked and graded; ropes were 
stretched for the tying of horses; tents pitched; and a 
thousand and one things attended to. The school house 
was tastefully decorated with bunting, loaned by London- 
derry Grange, and masses of goldenrod, sumac and other 
native flowers, while the flag was flung to the breeze from 
the top of its staff. 

The day of preparation was ideal, but August 21st 
dawned cloudy and threatening. All committees were 
early on the scene. A large tent, loaned by Mr. Frank 
A. Hardy, had been pitched directly in front of the school 
house, though at some distance from it. Flanking this tent 
on the right was a large shelter tent, while on the left, mar- 
shalled along the wall, were two small tents, one the head- 
quarters of the Secretary-Treasurer, and the commodious 
coffee tent. Below the pump a screen of birches ran 
across the grounds from the wall to the school house. The 
tea booth was at the angle of the wall by the road leading 
down the hill and a table loaded with refreshments for 
invited guests was set near by. About the grounds, in the 
tents and in the school house were chairs loaned by the 
town through the courtesy of Mr. Pettengill. 

A large conveyance had been provided to carry passen- 
gers to and from the station at Londonderry. Early in 
the day it began to discharge its human freight, Lawrence's 
Orchestra of five pieces being among the first arrivals. 

And then came the rain, — not a gentle shower, but a 
regular downpour that lasted until late in the afternoon. 
It was the irony of fate that the stormiest day of the season 
should come on August 21st, sandwiched between two of 
the most beautiful days in the entire summer. 

Nevertheless the celebration was in every way a success. 
Although many were kept at home, although many who 
had the courage to venture out left before the exercises 
began, yet some three or four hundred remained, jamming 



43 



the school room almost to suffocation. Not a word of com- 
plaint was heard, however. Every face was wreathed in 
smiles, and those who took part in the program were re- 
warded with hearty applause. 

A large Reception Committee of representative residents 
was on duty during the day. Through the kindness of the 
Morrison family lemonade was served to all. Post-cards 
of the present school house were on sale, and the member- 
ship of the Association was doubled and trebled, much to 
the delight of the Treasurer, who was enabled. to meet all 
bills and to have a balance to his credit. 

At two o'clock the assembly was called to order in the 
school room by President Annis. It had been intended to 
hold the exercises upon a platform erected for that purpose 
before the school house, but for obvious reasons this plan 
was abandoned. The program follows in detail: 

Program — August 21, 1907. 
Invocation. 

Singing by the audience: Auld Lang Syne. Home Again. 
Historical Sketch by Daniel Gage Annis. 
Singing by the audience: Old Oaken Bucket. 
Letters from Absent Friends, read by the Secretary. 
Five-Minute Addresses. 
Singing by the audience: America. 
Music by the orchestra. 



The Secretary read letters of regret from a number of 
former teachers and pupils, among whom were the fol- 
lowing : 

Mrs. Mary F. C. (March) Hall, of Long Pine, Nebraska, 
— a teacher in 1866 : 

Can it be possible that forty years have passed since I taught 
in District Number Eight! And yet we are face to face with the 
stern truth that time has been swiftly passing, and the boys and 
girls of that happy summer time are now men and women, doing 
their part in the world's work. Some, alas! finished their work 



44 

before the noontide of life and are now "resting from their labors." 
I, in a quiet way, have been trying to live not for self alone. 

I would like to tell those boys and girls some of my experiences 
during my stay in Iowa and Nebraska, but you will have many 
letters to read and the time would be too short. 

Suffice it to say that I am living a very happy life, with my 
family near me, and renewing my youth in the love of the little 
children who call me grandmother. 

My visits to Londonderry have always been in the earlier 
months of the year and I have missed the enjoyment of Old Home 
Week. 

But while I have lived so many years in the West, and have be- 
come, in a way, westernized, I have never forgotten my old New 
England home or the dear friends of long ago. 

And now from my far away western home let me send a kindly 
greeting to one and all of the dear friends of other days, and when 
you call the roll of teachers, listen, for the western wind may 
whisper. Here! 

Mrs. Harriet L. (Warner) PuUen, of Newton ville, Mas- 
sachusetts, — a teacher in 1867 : 

It is with much pleasure that I look back upon the summer 
spent at the schoolhouse on Bartley Hill, and I remember well 
many of my pupils, some of whom I have met from time to time 
since then, but most of them I have not seen since the last day of 
that term. 

Mary and Lucy Perkins, always ready with well prepared les- 
sons; Plummer Crowell, a bright, pleasant boy; Lizzie Crowell, 
Abbie Adams, Charlie Barker and many others. I remember one 
little boy who found much difficulty in learning his letters. I 
have often thought of him in connection with the modern method 
01 teaching children to read. The entire system of teaching is so 
changed, we are led to exclaim: "Surely old things have passed 
away. Behold all things have become new!" However, I still 
cling, in spite of progress, to many of the old-fashioned ideas and 
methods. 

Miss Emma L. Jenness, of Chicago, Illinois, — a teacher 
in 1868 and 1869 : 

It is almost forty years since, during two pleasant summer ses- 
sions, I so enjoyed my work there with my big girls, Ella Benson, 
Etta McGregor, Etta Barker, Abbie Adams and Lucy Perkins. 



45 

Then there were Edmund Richardson, Charlie Barker, Frank 
Colby, David Perkins, Frank Bagley, Frank Benson, Plummer 
Crowell and little Willie McGregor and Frank Hovey. Emma Per- 
kins is the only baby girl of whom I can think, and there were 
Josle Chase, Sadie Crowell, Emma and Carrie McGregor of the 
"middle size." I know there were many more dear boys and 
girls, and I wish I could recall their names. I should like a list 
of the names of all who were my pupils there. I wonder how 
many of them will be present in just one week from today. How 
many, I wonder, will remember having had a teacher by the name 
of Miss Jenness? A beautiful copy of Whittier's Poems and a 
photograph album are among the treasures precious to my heart. 
Through all these years remains the memory of my speaking im- 
pulsively to the dear, dear girls who came in late one warm af- 
ternoon just as the term was drawing to a close, bringing a deeper 
pink to the cheeks already flushed with rapid walking in the glow- 
ing sunshine. After the Last Day Exercises were over and the 
book with loving, tender words of appreciation had been pre- 
sented, while the good-byes were being said, I learned why the 
girls were late at noon that day. The ache in my heart has never 
left it. My eyes are filled with tears as I write. It is the only 
touch of sadness connected with my Number Eight days. 

I could write pages of happy memories. There is not one pupil 
whose name has come to mind since beginning this of whom I 
could not tell things interesting, — things "rememberful." Oh, if 
I could but be "in presence there" next Wednesday! Please let 
no one so much as think in his head "It is perhaps well she is 
confined to writing — that she can not be here to talk." 

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Crowell were my first Number Eight 
friends. It was through their influence that I went there, and 
they never let go by any opportunity to help make my life pleas- 
ant and homelike. Mr. Andrew Mack was the examining com- 
mittee and Mr. Washington Colby the prudential. 

My boarding place was at Mr. Isaac Dow's, but not many nights 
in succession went by that I did not go home with some of the 
children to take supper and to spend the evening. That good old 
custom has, I am afraid, almost died out. At no home was I 
oftener or more warmly welcomed than at that of Mr. and Mrs. 
John Dickey. Of course I was often at Reed P. Clark's, for Will 
and Sallie and I were old Pinkerton schoolmates. * * * 

I shall think of you next Wednesday. I hope the day will be 
perfect and the company large. I trust some will think of me, 
speak of me; and there may be a few to say "I went to school 
to Miss Jenness"; more perhaps to say "She was my father's 



46 

teacher" or "My mother, who went to school to Miss Jenness, 
has often told me of her." You see, friends, that as people grow 
older the knowledge that they are not forgotten grows more and 
more precious. You see, don't you, that I am growing old? Well, 
I am satisfied to have it so. So far, each year has been the best 
year. 

Rev. Myron P. Dickey, of Milton, New Hampshire, — a 
teacher in 1871 : 

The rural school district is the first little world whence the 
great part of the men and women have come that have so far met 
the grave problems which continuously arise. Modern methods of 
education change as everything else, but it is doubtful if there will 
ever be a school for all-round training of youth better than the 
mixed country school, with a moderate number of pupils and an 
enthusiastic, high-souled teacher. They learned from each other; 
the younger looked up to their elders; the older members felt 
themselves looked up to and were inspired to set worthy examples. 

Mrs. Etta M. (Young) Newman, of Westminster, Massa- 
chusetts, — a teacher in 1884 and 1885 : 

Very pleasant memories come of my association with pupils 
and parents in District Number Eight, and I have much for which 
to be grateful in my very pleasant relations with both while teach- 
ing my four successive terms on Bartley Hill. 

Changes have come to all of us; faces and forms have van- 
ished; new names are on the school roll. When we meet in the 
school under "The Great Master," may every name we love and 
cherish be found filling an honored place! 

Miss Mary E. Perkins, of Boston, Massachusetts, writ- 
ing from Austria: 

I have wandered far from that dear old school house this sum- 
mer and have seen the cities which were only a name to me then — 
quite as mythical as "Far Cathay" or "Ancient Troy." Now I 
know that Rome and Florence and Venice and Geneva do really 
exist and that they are very beautiful, but they can never make 
me forget the scenes or friends of my childhood, which will seem 
more beautiful than ever when next I see them. There is no 
country like the United States, no state like New Hampshire, no 
town like Londonderry, and no school like Number Eight. 



47 

Five-minute addresses were made by the Reverend Lu- 
eien H. Adams of Derry, who in the course of his remarks 
exhibited a number of articles formerly owned by his 
father;* Colonel William S. Pillsbury of Londonderry; 
Hon. Leonard H. Pillsbury of Derry; James Morrison of 
Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Mrs. Ella A. Huse of Derry ; 
and by those whose addresses are herewith printed in full. 

Henry Goodwin, of the Crawford House, Boston, Mas- 
sachusetts : 

It is more ttiau fifty-five years since I attended scliool on Bart- 
ley Hill, where this structure now stands. This is the only time 
that I have ever entered this lineal descendant of the "Old Red 
School House," but memory, true to her traditional trustworthi- 
ness, holds sacred and secure the experiences of those boyhood 
days. It is hard to recall that on any particular day anything 
was learned that was valuable as an asset, to be placed in the 
storehouse of accumulated wisdom for future use in the intelli- 
gent performance of the duties of life. The fact is that a boy 
never completes his education, if ever, till he gets away from 
teachers' books and schoolhouses and runs up against the really 
difficult problems of life, the answer to which is not in the text 
books. Incidents are more easily recalled than the solution of dif- 
ficult problems. 

The district was so bounded that from the north, south, east 
and west, every child had a steep hill to climb, and no change 
could be made except to make four districts instead of one, with 
four schoolhouses and four teachers and a division of the school 
term by four. 

I recall the wood stove in the center of the room, sometimes as 
cold as the northern hinges on the door of a receiving tomb in 



♦These articles, with certain books used in his own early life, were pre- 
sented to the Association by Mr. Adams August 19, 1908. 

They comprise : 

An ancient play-box made about 1792 and used by Edmund Adams. 
A coat worn by Edmund Adams in 1806, when four years of age. 
And the following books, all of which were used in Number Bight : 
The Only Sure Guide to the English Tongue, 

by William Perry. (1790.) 
A Compendious System of tjniversal Geography, 

by Elijah Parish, D U. (1813.) 
The IJnderstanding Reader, 

by Daniel Adams, M. B. (1815.) 
Practical and Mental Arithmetic, 

by Roswell C. Smith, 1833. 
A Practical System of Modern Geography, 
by J. Olney, A. M. 1888. 



48 

January, and again glowing with the intense heat made possible 
by the excessive use of white oak and maple. The older boys took 
turns with the teacher in making the fire, and I felt proud when 
thought big enough to take my turn with the rest and to be asked 
to bring one cent towards buying a broom. I remember taking 
one egg to Mr. Anderson's store and with it getting a slate pen- 
cil. When I asked if he would let me have two for that price he 
said he would break it in the middle for me. I recall distinctly 
the boys and girls of those days, most of whom, though gone from 
us, yet live in the second and third generations represented here 
today. Some have become prominent in business and in profes- 
sional life and to them the pulpit, the press and the platform are 
familiar; some are honorably serving as teachers in other fields; 
others have homes of their own made richer than they will ever 
know by what they have learned from teachers and text books in 
Number Eight. 

I believe in the district school system. Its one glory is this, 
that the boys and girls, with shoes and stockings or barefooted, 
place their feet upon the same level floor but put their heads 
where they have the will to put them, and this is why they do not 
go forth into the world like a paper of pins with their heads all 
alike. If my desire for knowledge had been one half as keen as 
my appetite for the lunch that mother put up to appease my mid- 
day hunger, a man of letters in the place of your uninformed 
alumnus might be talking to you today. I was taught to obey the 
teacher, to be kind to my schoolmates, to remember what I 
learned from the Bible as well as from text books, to consider the 
Golden Rule as the Magna Carta of God's Kingdom on earth. So 
character was being formed in which was the purpose to do right 
for truth's sake, and now to those far-off days I backward look 
for much that has been helpful and inspiring during all the in- 
tervening years. And now while here assembled, believing that 
the teaching in good old Number Eight has helped us to attain 
to that which makes for what is noblest and best in manhood and 
womanhood in the line of physical, mental and moral develop- 
ment, let us renew our pledge of unswerving loyalty to this shrine 
of our hearts' devotion, and ere this gray day shall darken into 
night — by all the hallowed memories that cluster here, by the 
dignity of our birthright, by the flag we love, re-baptized in the 
blood of those who made its supremacy possible and permanent. 
Let us go forth to new duties, knowing that we reach the limit 
of our obligations only when we reach the limit of our ability to 
make the world better. 



49 

"Up, brothers, up, and join the glorious strife. 

Where man is struggling for a loftier life; 

Deep through earth's yearning universal heart. 

New hopes, new energies, new beings start. 

Old bondage breaks, old chains are rent and riven. 

Freedom from all her mountains shouts to Heaven, 

False creeds are crumbling, man's first faith and best, 

The source of all the good in all the rest, 

The pure, the bright, the heavenly and the true. 

Eternal, vital and forever new, 

These, these instinct with impulse from above 

Go conquering on to rule the world by love."* 

Mr. Arthur H. Hale, of Manchester, — a teacher in 1883 : 

One beautiful afternoon in the Indian summer of 1883, my 
thoughts were directed to the famous old school of District Num- 
ber Eight by Professor Parker of Hanover. My struggle for an 
education at Dartmouth required me to teach that winter and 
I had made several applications for a position. Up to that time 
I had not made much progress. It appeared that the professor 
had received an urgent request for a good teacher of experience 
for this district. Fortunately for me the experienced teachers al- 
ready had other engagements, so he offered to recommend me. 
But word came back that it was a hard school. No one but a 
teacher tried and true could be accepted. A week or two passed. 
Then I was informed that they would try me and I might do if 
I would come quick. Meanwhile I had read "The Hoosier School- 
master" and prepared myself for all kinds of capers on the part 
of the pupils. 

A bleak fall day gave me my first acquaintance with the town 
of Londonderry and my little trunk was thrown off at Wilson's. 
One of the prudential committee was at the little station and on 
the road to my boarding place he laid down the law and prepared 
me for serious business in a kind but forcible way. Many mis- 
givings as to my ability to handle your excellent school and vis- 
ions of being thrown headlong from one of the windows or stowed 
away in the capacious stove were not at all diminished when I saw 
on the first morning of school in the front row as one of my 
scholars great, big-chested Charlie Tilly. If he knew how many 
nightmares he gave me he would be surprised. It was amusing 
indeed to the scholars to see him reciting to a little fellow like 
myself. One day as he stood by his seat reading, he came to a 
sudden stop. I tried to help him out, but he persisted in holding 



*From "The World's Hope," by George Lansing Taylor. 



50 

his book away up above my head. Off my guard, I started to 
climb upon a chair near by, but a smile here, a ripple there, and 
a laugh of increasing dimensions everywhere warned me only in 
time to hastily say to him "Yes, that's right, very good. You 
may take your seat." I will say for Charlie that he was always a 
good, big-hearted fellow and proved the least of all my troubles. 
The boys and girls, forty and more, were without exception at- 
tentive and considerate. Indeed, I was not prepared for so much 
consideration. Young and bashful, I was almost overwhelmed the 
first week when one of the handsome young ladies, on my offering 
her assistance over a stone wall, sweetly replied: "Thank you, 
dear." 

Many times since have my thoughts reverted to that delightful 
winter among the snowy hills of Londonderry and in the family 
of Mr. Floyd, distinguished for good cheer and kind hospitality, 
as one of the happy and profitable experiences of my life, an in- 
centive and inspiration. I assert with confidence that the keen 
air from these rugged hills developed the robust frames of the 
native children and gave them a kind of strength better adapted 
to violent exertions of mind and body and inspired them with a 
constitutional bravery and enterprise. 

What wonder is it that your young men and women go forth to 
our cities and take the lead in every walk of life! Their common 
school education is practical and fits them for the real struggle 
of life. In youth they are free from the luxurious entertainments 
of the city, which enervate the body and soften the mind. Strong, 
sturdy manhood once attained becomes permanent. It success- 
fully resists corruption in contact with the outside world. As the 
world improves, the opportunity for real individual success wid- 
ens — not money success but the success of service which brings all 
material reward necessary for human content. There is a real 
demand for captains of industry who will work for service and not 
for play. Shams are being exposed. Mere money is losing its 
power over men. Character is now the prime requisite. The 
world is really growing better. The higher standards of conduct 
which each one of us sets up for himself tell us this is so. To be 
cheerfully optimistic is the duty of all. To lend a hand in every 
good cause, to help while we may, is the motto of every true 
man, whatever his occupation. 

"I've toiled with the men the world has blessed; 

I've toiled with the men who have failed; 
I've toiled with the men who strove with zest; 

And I've toiled with the men who wailed. 



51 

And this is the tale my soul would tell, 

As it drifts o'er the harbor bar: 
The sound of a sigh don't carry well, 

But the lilt of a laugh rings far." 

Hope is the beacon that lures men onward. But the light 
from the star of hope is but the reflection of the fire in the heart 
filled with bright memories of the past. Without memories of the 
past we can have but small hope for the future. Memories of 
deeds accomplished but lead on to greater deeds, and the mem- 
ories of good old District Number Eight are the brightest of them 
all. 

Mrs. William H. Seaman, of Washington, D. C, — a 
teacher in 1861: 

I will speak briefly of a tornado, remarkable for a region so far 
north, of which I was witness from this point in July, 1861, when 
I was teaching in Number Eight. 

A class of older pupils were remaining after the closing hour 
for an extra lesson, when we were attracted Dy a darkening of 
the sky and a "rushing mighty wind." We gathered at the win- 
dows and presently upon our left there appeared a dark column 
advancing from the woodland and swirling within it what ap- 
peared to be twigs and leaves, but which were really limbs and 
whole trees. We soon saw that its course was so far away from 
us that we were not in danger, so we watched this wonderful col- 
umn as it passed through the valley below. It reached from earth 
to sky, not ragged in its outline but clear cut. 

As it approached Lake Massabesic there arose before it from 
the water an enormous shape like the head of an elephant with 
trunk in air, as though trumpeting, and directly over it in the 
sky another head and trxmk reaching down to meet the first. As 
the tips of the trunks met each other they instantly formed a 
solid square column and joined the advancing huge one. A mo- 
ment later a great pyramid arose from the earth and an inverted 
pyramid came down from the sky just above it. Another square 
column formed as the points of these pyramids met and this also 
united with the main column and it so passed from our sight, 
having traversed the entire valley before us. 

These water spouts were both over Lake Massabesic, the first 
one over the larger lake, the second over the smaller. A picnic 
party, fishing, were just coming to the shore when the first spout 
formed and all the water in the lake appeared to be scooped up 



52 



away from them for the moment. The table on shore, spread with 
their luncheon, was so completely demolished and carried away 
that no trace of anything pertaining to it could be found after- 
wards. 

Fortunately the track of this tornado was through the forest 
and not in line with buildings, and few upon its borders suffered 
loss. In one house a woman, to shut out the wind coming 
through a broken window pane, put a child's hat into the open- 
ing, stuflBing the crown with a small cushion. These were in- 
stantly torn from her hands and later were found, in opposite di- 
rections, a half mile each from the house. 

For nearly a year the track of this notable tornado was marked 
by a blood-red band of broken and uprooted trees, as though a 
fire had passed through the woodland; and several years later the 
United States Weather Bureau sent one of its experts' to gather 
full information of the event for permanent record in the Bureau. 

George Brickett, of Melrose, Massachusetts, — a teacher 
in 1858 and 1862: 

It gives me pleasure to be present at this District Number 
Eight Old Home Day reunion. Whenever an Old Home Day cele- 
bration is proposed our thought is directed to the old, for they are 
an absolutely necessary feature of such celebrations. 

While I have been observing you today in your earnest conver- 
sations, not hearing your words, my imagination became excited. 
I imagined one of you of the young class asking an older: "Who 
is that fine-looking gentleman over there?" The older replied: 
"Why, that is James Morrison! Don't you know him?" "Of 
course I know Mr. Morrison," said the younger, "but who is that 
ministerial appearing gentleman?" "Why," said the older, "I sup- 
posed everybody knew him. That is Henry Goodwin." "I know 
Mr. Goodwin," replied the younger, "and I want to know who is 
that handsome man over there." "Oh, that is George Brickett," 
was the reply, "and he was my teacher in this district forty-nine 
years ago. Don't you know him?" In a slightly impatient man- 
ner the younger answered: "How do you suppose I should know 
who was your teacher twenty-nine years before I was born?" 

While I was thus imagining, a vision appeared. I saw myself 
standing by the teacher's desk and looking into the faces of the 
Morrisons, the McGregors, the Barkers, the Sargents, the Blodg- 
etts, the Noyes, the Clarks, the Perkins, the Whitcombs, the 
Whittemores, the Goodwins, the Huntees, the Crowells, the Boyces, 
tne Pettengills, the Atwoods, the Dows, the Dakins, and the entire 



53 

school, and if I should uow listen I think I might hear their 
voices. I saw the young teacher who, though able to pass the 
examination, had come to this district to learn what he had not 
learned at the academy. Right on this spot I learned that every 
intelligent human being is born with a desire to learn and he will 
retain that desire until ignorant parents or incompetent teachers 
obscure it by their blackguardism. 

Young parents and young teachers! I offer you advice based 
on my experience as teacher in this district and subsequently in 
Massachusetts. Some children are bright and some are dull, but 
all want to learn. You can not stop the bright ones and you can 
help the dull ones. 

Teachers! I know how pleasing it is to read in the committee's 
report that under my direction the pupils had made rapid prog- 
ress. The fact was that I could not have stopped the bright 
ones in their progress. But the dull ones who had progressed by 
my help could not make the brilliant showing on examination day, 
and I was given credit not for helping the dull but for not hin- 
dering the bright. 

Parents! If you admit that your child is dull, don't abuse him. 
He wants to learn. Help him! Don't blackguard him, don't call 
him stupid, don't tell him that little Johnny Brown knows more 
than he does, don't tell him that you are too busy, don't deaden 
his desire to learn. To be sure, we have seen children who 
seemed indifferent and who did not show the desire to learn, but 
God never made such a child, and, for everyone who shows such 
indifference, there is a day of judgment for the parent or the 
teacher who by blackguardism has destroyed a mind. Destroyed 
a mind? No, no, mind can not be destroyed and that child's mind 
is now willing and anxious for development, but is waiting for 
kind and humane treatment. I believe the highest reward an 
instructor can receive in this world is that which appears in the 
face of the dull child awakened to the truth that he can learn 
when treated as one worthy of acquiring knowledge. 

And a second vision appeared. I saw you people assembling 
here forty-nine years hence at another Old Home Day reunion and 
enjoying the reciting of the events of 1907, but I could not clearly 
see the positions which the old of today would then occupy. 
Through a cloud we seemed to be present at District Number 
Eight Old Home Day of 1956, but, before the mist had rolled 
away, the vision vanished and left me to hope and trust. 

My young friends! I thank you for your sympathy and your 
hearty cooperation in giving to the old this opportunity for hap- 
piness such as you will not realize until you are old. Laughter 



54 

and hilarity seem to be emblematic of pleasure, but one step 
higher on the ladder of happiness is the feeling of sadness. May 
you live to reach that step and fully realize the happiness you 
have given us today! 

The long, long ago, and the sweet, sweet home have been feel- 
ingly expressed in three charming melodies, and by request of my 
schoolmate as well as pupil, Mr. Harlan P. Morrison, I will en- 
deavor to interpret them. 

Mr. Brickett then played on the harmonica the songs 
"Long, Long Ago," and "Home, Sweet Home," and re- 
cited ' ' The Long Years ' ' by Thomas Moore : 

And doth not a meeting like this make amends 

For all the long years I've been wand'ring away — 
To see thus around me my youth's early friends. 

As smiling and kind as in that happy day? 
Though haply o'er some of your brows, as o'er mine. 

The snow-fall of time may be stealing — what then? 
Like Alps in the svmset or smooth-flowing Rhine, 

We'll wear the gay tinge of youth's roses again. 

What softened remembrances come o'er the heart, 

In gazing on those we've been lost to so long! 
The sorrows, the joys, of which once they were pari. 

Still round them, like visions of yesterday, throng, 
As letters some hand hath invisibly traced. 

When held to the flame will steal out on the sight, 
So many a feeling, that long seem'd effaced, 

The warmth of a moment like this brings to light. 

So brief our existence, a glimpse, at the most. 

Is all we can have of the few we hold dear; 
And oft even joy is unheeded and lost, 

For want of some heart, that could echo it, near. 
Ah, well may we hope, when this short life is gone. 

To meet in some world of more permanent bliss. 
For a smile, or a grasp of the hand, hast'ning on, 

Is all we enjoy of each other in this. 

And thus, as in memory's bark we shall glide, 

To visit the scenes of our boyhood anew, 
Tho' oft we may see, looking down on the tide. 

The wreck of full many a hope shining through, 



55 



Yet still, as in fancy we point to the flowers, 
That once made a garden of all the gay shore, 

Deceived for a moment, we'll think them still ours, 
And breathe the fresh air of life's morning once more. 



After reading this melody Mr. Brickett asked the Presi- 
dent to permit him to express good-bye sentiments through 
the voice of his wife, and, leading her to the platform, he 
accompanied with the harmonica while Mrs. Brickett very 
feelingly and very sweetly sang the following parting song : 



^ 



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^m 






t -♦- ♦P 



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tfrm^f*-^ ^laKa^- <.^r**,ji. 



\;\\fr^U':\ 



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f*^ 



-hf 1*\ •; "V 



:i '/ I 



J 



^ 



^g 



u\ tiie g>^c t 



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-fc*- 






X^ <^ Va^ t^ e^i^LaJfty CaM^j, "fojUi^Wc j<ul.- J>^ ho^.luc^/. Cw . 



j^-r^r r | r't \'\- \ m- | ^ J',. . ^ ,. | _^ | | 



While we've wandered we have hearkened 
For the voice of Home, Sweet Home, 

And we heard Old Home Day calling: 
"Wand'ring pilgrims, homeward come!" 

We have come to meet companions 
In the grand old Granite State, 

And we never shall forget thee. 
Dear loved District Number Eight. 

We've renewed the dear old friendships, 
Hand in hand, and heart to heart, 

But our joy gives way to sadness; 
Time is fleeting — we must part. 



56 

We must part — but not forever. 

For a spirit ne'er can die. 
We shall meet in God's Own Homeland, 

Nevermore to say: "Good-bye." 

Mrs. Mary J. (Reid) Whittemore, of Manchester, — a 
teacher in 1863, 1864 and 1865 : 

Forty-four years in the future stretches away a long distance, 
so far that neither eye nor thought can see the end. Turning to 
the past, it is now forty-four years since I first came as teacher to 
District Number Eight, which was the largest school in town, 
numbering sixty-four pupils in summer and sixty-eight in winter. 
The next year I taught the spring term, the winter term being 
taught by Mr. Joseph R. Clark. In 1865 I taught both terms and 
also a select term of six weeks. 

I have many pleasant recollections of the weeks spent in the 
good old district, for the pupils were eager to learn as well as to 
please by their good conduct. 

One writer has said: "No college has played a more important 
part in the educational history of our country than has the dis- 
trict school house." 

For one, I thank you that you have entertained the idea of a 
reunion, and that you have called back the wandering pupils of 
District Number Eight, with their teachers, to participate with 
you in the pleasures of this occasion. 

Those of us who have stopped even for a short time on Bartley 
Hill and looked out upon those grand old mountains in the west, 
not so many miles distant, with the hills and valleys between, 
will have their images so stamped upon the memory that time can 
never efface them. Today these have not changed, but what of 
the families that were here forty years ago? A shade of sad- 
ness comes over us as we call to mind Mr. David Barker, Mr. and 
Mrs. Dow, Mr. and Mrs. E. Young, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Crowell, 
Mr. and Mrs. Washington Perkins, Mr. and Mrs. Reed P. Clark, 
and the superintending school committee, Mr. John Dickey and 
Dr. John Haynes. The questions they would ask the pupils in 
reference to the different branches they had been pursuing were 
well calculated to bring to the surface what the pupils had learned 
as well as what they had not. 

As we meet the many dear friends and old acquaintances here 
touay, "How varied will be the emotions awakened by memories 
that will come trooping from the past, precious and dear to us all." 
I count it a great privilege and honor to be one with you today. 



57 



COMMITTEES FOR AUGUST 21, 1907. 



Reed Paige Clark. 
Mrs. Charles Adams. 
Ruth M. E. Blodgett. 



William Clark. 
Daniel G. Aunls. 



WAYS AND MEANS. 

D. B. McGregor. 
Mrs. John E. Ray. 
Frank N. Colby. 

INVITATION. 

William H. Crowell. 



Prank N. Colby. 
Lucy W. Perkins. 
Mrs. Frank N. Colby. 



ENTEETAINMENT. 



Mrs. Fred E. Annis. 
William H. Crowell. 



DECOBATIONS AND OBDEB, 

William Clark. 
Fred E. Annis. 
William H. Crowell. 
Mrs. William H. Seaman. 



Lucy W. Perkins. 



Carl Floyd. 
James M. Noyes. 
George N. Watts. 
Elizabeth Morrison. 



Dorcas Morrison. 



Mrs. Arthur L. Evans. 
Arthur L. Evans. 
Mrs. R. L. Pettengill. 



KEFBESHMENT. 



Charles H. Watts. 
Mrs. Charles H. Watts. 



Mrs. Charles S. Greeley. 



TEA. 

Mrs. Frank N. Colby. 



Mrs. William H. Crowell. 
Charles U. Annis. 



COFFEE. 

Mrs. Charles Adams. 



TEANSPOBTATION. 



Daniel G. Annis. 



HOW THE MONEY WAS RAISED. 



As the fees for registration constitute the only regular 
source of income of the Association and as it is not intended 
at any time to circulate subscription papers to raise funds, 
it was found necessary to resort to extraordinary means to 
meet the expenses of the first celebration. How these ex- 
penses were met is shown in the following letters : 

On May 7th a meeting of the Executive Committee of the As- 
sociation was called at the home of Mrs. William H. Crowell for 
the purpose of discussing ways and means of raising money to 
defray the expenses of the celebration in August. 

It was voted to give a baked bean supper and social at the school 
house on May 17th. Two committees were appointed, the one of 
which Miss Lucy W. Perkins was chairman to arrange a suitable 
program for the evening's entertainment, and the other to have 
entire charge of providing the supper and serving the same. Mrs. 
William Clark was elected chairman of this committee and much 
credit is due her for her splendid management. 

The evening of May 17th proved to be mild and beautiful, and 
truly it may be said that all roads, on that night at least, led to 
the old school house on Hartley Hill. The school room was filled 
to overflowing. Many of the older ones present had not been in 
the school building for years and to them especially it was like 
renewing their youth. All present, whether former pupils or 
strangers in the district, entered into the spirit of the evening 
with the enthusiasm of boys and girls. 

And the supper! Certainly it was a supper long to be remem- 
bered, and to sit again at the old desks piled high with good 
things was in striking contrast to former school days. 

The entertainment proved as great a treat as the supper. Mr. 
Alden Youngman, a brother of the late Mrs. Washington Per- 
kins of this district, was present and sang several pleasing ballads 
of the olden time. Earlier in his life Mr. Youngman was a public 
singer of note and the numerous encores given him were sufficient 
proof that he had by no means lost the power to charm his 
hearers. 



59 

Miss Susie Magoon, the daughter of a former pupil at Number 
Eight, played several violin solos, which were well received. 
Great credit is due her for her excellent work. 

Too much praise can not be given Miss Lucy Laws, a public 
reader of Derry. The old school house rang with applause at the 
close of each of her readings. 

The evening proved a grand success, and everyone, in the dis- 
trict and elsewhere, who contributed in any way whatever toward 
the affair has just cause to be proud. 

Mrs. William H. Ceowell, 

Chairman Executive Committee. 



ECHO FARM SOCIAL. 

At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Evans, the second en- 
tertainment was given June 25, 1907, for the benefit of the Old 
Home celebration. 

A beautiful day was promised until five o'clock, when the clouds 
began to gather and a heavy shower forced its unwelcome arrival. 
For a time things began to look doubtful and what promised to 
be a lawn party was changed to a house social. 

A plentiful repast, consisting of baked beans, salads, cakes and 
pies, was served in the dining room. After the supper an enter- 
tainment was given by the young people who in former years at- 
tended the school. This entertainment, which was of the highest 
order, was enjoyed by all. The readings, music, both vocal and 
instrumental, and chorus singing reflected much credit upon the 
performers. A gi-aphophone concert was given by Mr. Charles H. 
Watts on the spacious piazza. 

All who attended thoroughly enjoyed the evening and it will go 
down on record as one spent most acceptably both socially and 
financially. 

Ruth M. E. Blodgett. 



In the latter part of July a lawn party was held at the home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Annis for the benefit of Number Eight. 
The evening was passed in games and dancing. Ice cream and 
cake were served. The proceeds of the evening added very con- 
siderably to the fund for the district celebration. 

Chaeles Annis. 



OCT m 



L£Ja'09 



''^K 



School District Number Eight 



